Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Does Santa carry anything besides gifts in his sleigh?

Last week I was standing in line at our local post office, and felt out of place. Everyone else was trying to send out Christmas cards, mail off gifts to family and friends in hope they'd arrive before Christmas, or simply buy rolls of stamps to send out end-of-the-year business mailings. I stood there with my expedited document mailer, trying to get my passport renewal application to the Department of State in Washington D.C. Once that's renewed, I will send it off to the Nigerian Consulate to apply for my visa.

Just like everyone standing in line, I was wishing for Christmas weather (it turned out to be 75* on Christmas day!), making mental grocery lists to stock the fridge in preparation for having company, and looking forward to spending time with those I love. But I was spending my $22.95 postage fee to send an envelope to a government office in D.C. instead of mailing a box to a family member in Florida. My package contained paper forms and money orders, not fuzzy socks and new toys. But we were all spending our precious holiday time standing in line to make sure our important packages arrived on time.

This isn't the first time that I've felt out of place in this town. This isn't the first time that I've realized I'm heading down a different life path than most other Americans. But this was the first time I was actually excited about it!

Who knows, maybe Santa carried my envelope in his sleigh and made a stop at the passport office on his way to bring gifts to Malia and Sasha at the White House!